WD Presents: Upcoming Short Short Story Competition Deadline and Writer’s Digest Turns 100!
This week, we’re excited to announce the upcoming deadline for the Short Short Story Competition, seven new writing courses, and more.
There's always so much happening in the Writer's Digest universe that even staff members have trouble keeping up. As a result, we decided to start collecting what's on the horizon to make it easier for everyone to know what's happening and when.
This week, we’re excited to announce the upcoming deadline for the Short Short Story Competition, seven new writing courses, and more.
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Short Short Story Competition Deadline
Deadline: December 14, 2020
We’re looking for short fiction stories! Think you can write a winning story in 1,500 words or less? Enter the 21st Annual Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition for your chance to win $3,000 in cash, get published in Writer’s Digest magazine, and a paid trip to our ever-popular Writer’s Digest Conference!
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Seven Online Writing Courses Start This Week
Seven new online writing courses start this week, including getting started in writing, pitching an article, publishing a children’s book, and more. Click here to check out the Writer's Digest University calendar.
Build Your Novel Scene by Scene
If you want to learn how to write a story, but aren’t quite ready yet to hunker down and write 10,000 words or so a week, this is the course for you. Build Your Novel Scene by Scene will offer you the impetus, the guidance, the support, and the deadline you need to finally stop talking, start writing, and, ultimately, complete that novel you always said you wanted to write.
Creativity & Expression
Are you a beginner writer? Do you want to put pen to paper but have a case of writer’s block? Learn creative writing techniques to launch your writing and transform your ideas into your next story.
When you take this online workshop, you’ll explore creative writing topics and learn how descriptive writing can breathe life into your characters, setting, and plot with Rebecca McClanahan’s Word Painting. Stretch your imagination, develop your creative writing skills, and express your creativity with this writing workshop.
How to Catch an Agent's Interest with Your First Pages
Writing strong first pages requires a great hook, a strong voice, and a clear premise. The first sentence should immediately catch the reader’s attention, while the subsequent text should leave the reader wanting to dive further into the pages of the manuscript. But making the first pages of your story absolutely un-putdownable takes practice, patience, revision, and an eye for detail. Which is why we’re here: to discuss what to do (and not to do) to make your opening pages stand out.
Marketing Your Magazine Articles
Do you have a great idea for an article but don’t know what publication would be the best fit? Develop the skills you need to market your writing through this online writing workshop for experienced writers. Gain insight into marketing magazine articles and learn how to sell your writing. Plus, learn what to expect when an editor accepts your proposal and how to negotiate a contract. Take a chance and pitch your writing to editors—you might just see your work in print and get paid too!
Professional Copyediting: Tools of the Trade
Professional Copyediting: Tools of the Trade is a tool for budding copy editors to take their skills to the next level. Each session’s lecture will address specific topics, such as how to edit quotations, common blunders to avoid, and differences between editing an article and tackling a book-length work; each will discuss aspects of grammar and usage, with writing samples that demonstrate these aspects properly used; and each will include practice exercises and a writing assignment which the students have edited themselves for the instructor to assess and provide feedback.
Writing Nonfiction 101: Fundamentals
Research, interview, and explore the subjects that interest you. Then write about what you've learned in Writing Nonfiction 101: Fundamentals. Writing nonfiction is a great way for beginner and experienced writers to break into the publishing industry.
Throughout this 12-week workshop, you will get step-by-step instruction on how to write non-fiction, read Philip Gerard's Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life, and write articles, essays, or a few chapters of your book. Register for this workshop and discover how fun writing nonfiction can be.
Writing the Picture Book
Picture books are one of the most delightful—and important—genres in all of literature.
In this course, you'll learn how to write a winning picture book narrative, envision it with illustrations, and put together a picture package that a publisher will really notice.
Plus, you'll receive feedback on each assignment from your instructor and have the chance to participate in the peer critique section of the workshop with other classmates.
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Check out the November/December issue of Writer's Digest!
Writer’s Digest officially turns 100! In this special double issue, WD celebrates 100 years of helping writers improve their craft and getting published with advice from some of the biggest industry professionals and authors publishing today. We’ll look back on how writing has changed over time, the founding of WD, and much more.
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Polish your writing to find success!
2nd Draft provides a high-level review of your writing, pointing out reasons your work may be getting rejected, or may not meet the standards of traditional publication.
After an evaluation of your submission, one of the professional 2nd Draft critiquers will provide feedback and advice. You'll not only learn what's working in your writing, but what’s not, and—most important—how to fix it.
Send your work to Writer's Digest 2nd Draft Critique Service!
